On this week’s edition of The Founder, we feature Dilrukshi Perera; Founder, Melchiah Linen. An alumnus of Holy Family Convent, Colombo 04, Dilrukshi was working in the airline industry for almost nineteen years, and having lived and worked outside her home country for almost two decades, Dilrukshi was eager to move back to Sri Lanka and start her own business.
In your own words, what is Melchiah Linen?
Melchiah is a bed-linen brand that caters to a niche market segment who are keen to purchase customized linen. I initially launched the brand with bed-linen, but overtime introduced bath linen, and other items such as pillow cases, duvets, mattress protectors, soft furnishing and exclusive curtaining. For our line of curtains we retail products made and designed in Belgium and India. We also specialize in Yacht Bedding and include monogramming on almost all linen items we retail in store. We currently retail our monogram yacht collections to Royal Households for their private yachts. Melchiah Linen is a brand that filled an existing gap in the market in Sri Lanka. Our tag line is ‘Poetry in Linen’ and I feel there’s always a story behind what we customize and create for our customers.
What inspired you to start your business?
I started my career as a Flight Attendant working initially for Sri Lankan Airlines and thereafter for Emirates. I worked in the Airline industry for almost two decades. I was always passionate about linen! During my many overseas travels, having stayed at multiple star class hotels and shopped at upscale shopping malls in all the cities we traveled to, I have used and purchased several brands of bed linen. At shopping malls I would often go into homeware stores and other concept stores and spend time admiring linen. I always wanted to launch an international brand with a ‘Made in Sri Lanka’ label. I wanted to offer customers in Sri Lanka an opportunity to purchase customized linen for their bedrooms and homes. Furthermore, I am very passionate about helping underprivileged children. I launched a project to feed and educate street children and I needed funds to keep the project going long term. Hence, I decided launching my own business would also be a good way to raise the funds I needed to keep the project alive.
What was the journey like, from the start to building the business up to where it is right now?
My entrepreneurial journey commenced about eight years ago with two sets of bed linen. I gave up my well-paid job and my adventurous lifestyle to start a new venture from scratch and to be honest I didn’t know where to start from at first! I had always worked in a corporate environment and starting my own business was no easy feat. I launched with minimum capital and the support of a few close friends. From recruiting a small team to sourcing the right fabrics and marketing my new brand; it was all a learning curve for me. I also had several people constantly dissuade me and kept trying to convince me that it was not easy for a woman to launch her own business in Sri Lanka and that I was extremely foolish to have resigned from a global company like Emirates. It was quite an uphill battle.
What were the hardships you faced as an entrepreneur and what was the toughest one yet?
Attracting clients! As a new start-up, it’s always difficult to source new customers. I didn’t have an extensive marketing budget and hence all my clients had to be sourced one by one. Overtime, word of mouth was my biggest marketing strategy. When I initially started, I made two sets of bed linen and tried to sell it out of my guest bedroom at home.
Being an entrepreneur, what was it like facing the global pandemic? How did it affect the business?
The global pandemic affected our entire business. Our factory and our concept-store was closed off for over two months and we had no way of paying staff salaries. I had no idea how I was going to move forward. Our clientele was always 50-50 between residential customers and the hotel sector (Hotels, Resorts, Villas, etc.) and needless to say there was zero business trickling in from the hospitality sector. Luckily, our residential customers stepped in and helped us stay afloat. But the current import restrictions continue to affect our business as we rely heavily on importing fabrics and so on.
Explain a few marketing strategies you have implemented, and what makes them successful?
Like I mentioned above, word of mouth worked well for us. It was not just advertising, but it was a testimony of a client’s personal experience with the brand and product. Social media was another important marketing tool, although I am not quite social media savvy!
What motivates you to wake up in the morning and do what you do on daily basis?
“If you love what you do, you will never work another day in your life.” I wake up to do what I love. I also have a responsibility towards my employees and my customers to deliver what we have promised. This motivates me daily. Some days are really difficult but it’s a choice and not an option. It is wonderful to be able to create beautiful things that put a smile on our customer’s faces.
How did you get your initial start-up capital?
When I initially started planning, I was still employed at Emirates. I used a portion of my monthly pay cheque to purchase one item at a time. My first purchase was a sewing machine and the following month was fabric and so on. I was terrified of borrowing money from any bank until I had a steady business. So initially all the capital injected was my own money. I eventually borrowed from a local private bank once my business took off.
Who are your role models?
I don’t have a particular role model per se, but I constantly learn from people around me who run successful businesses. I also make it a point to regularly listen to talk shows featuring successful entrepreneurs and corporate personalities.
What is the end goal?
To make a success of my business and someday make it into a global brand, so that my business and brand can long continue even after I am no more. This will also ensure the long-term continuity of my community project that empowers street children.
